local; that locality
HSK level
当地 is written with 12 strokes (当: 6, 地: 6). The animation replays automatically.
当地 (dāngdì) is a noun meaning 'the local area' or 'that particular place' — it refers to the specific locality being talked about, and most often works attributively to mean 'local,' as in 当地人 (local people), 当地时间 (local time), or 当地政府 (the local government).
It is neutral in register and extremely common in news, travel, and everyday speech. The key difference from English 'local' is that 当地 is a noun, not an adjective: it literally means 'this/that place under discussion,' so it always points back to a place already established in context rather than describing something as small-scale or nearby. Do not confuse it with 本地 (běndì), which means 'this place, where I am,' or 附近 (fùjìn), which means 'nearby.'
Character by character
Memory hook: 当 (that very) + 地 (place) = 'that very place' → the local area being discussed.
我们请了一位当地人当导游。
Wǒmen qǐng le yí wèi dāngdì rén dāng dǎoyóu.
We hired a local person as our guide.
neutral
到了以后，请把手表调成当地时间。
Dào le yǐhòu, qǐng bǎ shǒubiǎo tiáo chéng dāngdì shíjiān.
After you arrive, please set your watch to local time.
spoken
这道菜是当地的特色。
Zhè dào cài shì dāngdì de tèsè.
This dish is a local specialty.
neutral
当地政府正在解决交通问题。
Dāngdì zhèngfǔ zhèngzài jiějué jiāotōng wèntí.
The local government is working to solve traffic problems.
written
本地 means 'this place, where the speaker is,' so it is anchored to your own location. 当地 refers to whatever place is under discussion, often somewhere far from the speaker (e.g. a news report about another city).
Acquire it by listening
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